Everything Old is New Again

Introduction

Across the country, adding or expanding urban green space has been shown to both increase foot traffic and bring economic growth to a city. Communities across the United States and elsewhere have noticed the environmental, political, and economic advantages of urban green spaces; both advocacy and popularity have grown quickly in the last 20 years. A number of these green spaces are structured around current infrastructure or abandoned transportation infrastructure; both are credited with re-greening an area.

In 2015, Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Riverlife worked with consultants to estimate the economic benefits related to parks and trails, in their attempts to make an economic case for Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Park. The consultants ...